Reminder reloader

ABSTRACT

Pill organizers and pill reminders are basically the same thing. Hereafter references to both will be referred to as organizers. There are many configurations and sizes of pill organizers, with the 7 day type the most common. They all have the same problems. The lids can be difficult to open, particularly for people who have weak hands or do not want to break their finger nails. There is no good way to hold the doors open, other than bending them so far back that the hinges fail in a short time. There is no good, sanitary way of counting the pills into the compartments. Currently, the only way to put the correct number of pills into the compartments is by use of the traditional pharmacist&#39;s counting device. This requires a steady hand, a good eye, and a substantial outlay of cash. This system also requires a large amount of storage space. When errors are made, there is no easy way to pull the one pill out of the compartment. These problems result in people not using the organizers. When the organizers are not used, there is no way for the user, who is trying to stay out of the nursing home, to know for sure if he did take the pills. There is no way for the one parent to know if the other parent gave the child his pills. There is no way for caretakers to know if the elderly or handicapped person is taking the pills as prescribed. There is no empty compartment to convince a doctor that the pills were taken. It is very common for one adult to be taking care of the pills for their mate. When the one taking care of the pills has a health emergency, such as a heart attack, it can be very difficult for friends and relatives to determine what pills, and when they should be taken, by the spouse. App. 10% of hospital admissions are the result of noncompliance with prescriptions written by doctors, with the average stay being 4 days. The Reminder Reloader makes it easy to use the organizers. This makes it much more likely that the organizers will be used. The Reminder Reloader can be used to open a single lid of the organizer by simply putting the end under the lid to be opened and over a neighboring lid. A simple twist opens the desired lid. The reloading (refilling) of the organizer is equally simple. It can be done with one hand. You put the Reloader on the table. You put the organizer into the left hand side of the Reloader. You push the organizer into the Reloader, left to right. The lids snap open and are kept open. Pills are poured into the Reloader. The pills are pulled to the hole over the organizer compartment and allowed to drop down. If there is an error, the tweezers are used to remove the errant pill. The organizer is pulled out to the right and the lids are closed. The excess pills are poured back into the original container.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on provisional application Ser. No.10/617,333, filed on Jul. 9, 2003.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

DESCRIPTION OF ATTACHED APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of machines and morespecifically to a process for refilling pill organizers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Reminder Reloader opens the lids of the organizer, holds bulk pills,allows the pills to be moved into the organizer and facilitates pouringthe extra pills back into the original container.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, anembodiment of the present invention is now

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings constitute a part of this specification and includeexemplary embodiments to the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. It is to be understood that in some instances various aspects ofthe invention may be shown exaggerated or enlarged to facilitate anunderstanding of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an end view of the invention.

1. is an edge bent up to keep the organizer in the reloader

2. is a horizontal surface to hold bulk pills ready to be counted intothe organizer

3. is a tab bent into the reloader that opens the covers as theorganizer is pushed into the reloader.

4 is a hole to allow the pills to drop into the organizer as it ispushed thru

5. is an opening for,a round organizer to be reloaded

6. is the bottom of the reloader

FIGS. 1 & 2 have the same markings

1. I claim a method for refilling pill organizers, comprising the stepsof: a. putting the Reloader device on the table b. putting the organizerinto the Reloader c. putting bulk pills into the Reloader d. countingthe pills into each compartment in the organizer, using the tweezers toremove errors. e. Pouring the extra pills back into the originalcontainer